[sarex] NASA ACCEPTING PROPOSALS FOR STUDENT EXPERIMENTS

["Arthur Z Rowe" <n1orc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Submitted by Arthur - N1ORC

Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington                  October 7, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-0836)

Julie Burt
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 03-322

NASA ACCEPTING PROPOSALS FOR STUDENT EXPERIMENTS 

     NASA's Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities 
Program is accepting proposals from undergraduate teams across 
the country to fly their experiments on a unique agency 
airplane.

Since its inception in 1995, the program has offered the 
unique venue of NASA's specially equipped KC-135 airplane to 
student researchers. Participation in the program will enable 
students to learn how scientific research conducted in micro-
gravity differs from research conducted on Earth. Students 
also will have the opportunity to explore how the human body 
reacts to weightlessness.

Students, the next generation of explorers, scientists and 
engineers, will have the chance to float free and perform 
experiments in an environment usually reserved for space 
travelers.

The four-engine KC-135, a modified version of the standard 
U.S. Air Force tanker, is similar to the Boeing 707. 
Weightlessness is achieved by flying the plane in carefully 
choreographed maneuvers: climb at a 45-degree angle, "over the 
top" and then down at 45 degrees. The maneuver creates a 
weightless free-fall environment that lasts about 25 seconds. 
Each flight incorporates 30 of these parabola-shaped 
sequences.

The program provides a unique academic experience for students 
to successfully propose, design, fabricate, fly and evaluate a 
reduced gravity experiment of their choice over the course of 
a school year. The overall experience includes scientific 
research, hands-on experimental design, test operations and 
educational/public outreach activities.

The deadline for applications is Oct. 20. For information 
about the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program 
on the Internet, visit:

 http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA's Education programs on the 
Internet, visit:

http://education.nasa.gov

For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov




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